Reflection
by Thunderscourge
Summary: Jonathan Crane knew Harvey Dent before becoming the Scarecrow. The Two-Faced White Knight of Gotham loved having a drinking buddy after he managed to put away a criminal for good, and he found one in the stoic Crane. The Batman and the Joker are merely rumors at this time and things have yet to go bad. So why not relax and drink? Harvey Dent/Rachel Dawes mentioned, no Dent/Crane.


_A/N: Okay, this has been needing to be made for awhile. A prequel to my story A Misled Lamb...which itself is a prequel for the Batman game Arkham Asylum. This requires no context from that story, but I will explain a couple things. Penelope Young is the doctor of many of the characters in Arkham Asylum (the game), including Jonathan Crane AKA the Scarecrow. A Misled Lamb is about her interactions with Crane. She is here for cameo purposes only, but also for the minor plot detail of her never hearing about the crimes that will later be pinned on Scarecrow. She was doubtful that he ever really hurt people, so her not witnessing the news reports of what he does is necessary to make that work._

_Anyways, lots of elements from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are used to fill in the areas where Arkham Asylum (the game) left things blank...which is all over the place. So expect some familiar bits, albeit done differently._

_You can read A Misled Lamb first if it makes you feel better, as this is technically a spin off of it. Although that would mean catching up on 78 chapters worth of Jonathan Crane goodness...I bet you might enjoy yourself a little!_

_Anyways, this is its own mini-continuity. Don't try to nitpick about whatever supposed canon you are used to. Just enjoy, okay?_

_If anyone here likes the Scarecrow from The Dark Knight trilogy, I suggest that you check out my one shot story "Still Here" that revolves around him after The Dark Knight Rises. Contains spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie yet I would suggest waiting to read it until after. Hope you all enjoy it and will leave me your feedback on it. If enough support for it rises I might even make a sequel to it!_

_**I hope you all enjoy this chapter and will leave whatever thoughts, comments, ideas or questions you have with me! Your feedback really does help me improve the story for everyone, so please don't feel shy and reach out and let me know your thoughts!**_

* * *

Everyone cowered in fear as a horribly scarred man flung the door open with a single arm before walking in purposefully. Nobody said anything and the noise previously held in the bar completely died. Even the jukebox had been turned off.

Sitting down at a table of no importance to anyone but himself, the man waited for someone to bring him his drink. It was mere seconds before his special drink arrived and two straws were placed beside it if he so wished to use them. It had to be two straws, given who this was.

Taking a swig of his alcohol, Harvey Dent rubbed the liquid that fell through his face and dribbled down his neck. It did not take long to finish the alcohol, but he made no effort to get another. A couple people whispered in the areas farthest from Two-Face, but no major conversations resumed.

Uncaring about the awkward situation he had made, Harvey Dent looked into his glass and just began to think. He needed to get past the fact that he had just helped ruin an old friend's life and the fact that the man was going to likely never meet his own child. Harvey knew that he had flipped his coin and it had decided the man's fate for him, but that felt like an empty excuse at the moment.

Closing his eyes, Dent let the past overtake him.

* * *

Gotham City had been decaying for over a half century. Instead of correcting its course and doing what it could to stop the slow downfall, the city instead escalated the decay over time with the addition of multiple crime families and rampant corruption. The people in the city did not seem to mind, for they remained in the increasingly dangerous city as it went from a prim and proper town to having slums and criminal hotspots like the Narrows. The rich let the city grow worse as their pockets grew larger with the exploitation of workers and the city itself dirtying their uncalloused hands. The poor were left under the whim of their wealthy overlords as well as the mercy of the criminals they found themselves surrounded by on.

In the time before being in a costume was a prerequisite of being taken seriously in organized crime, there were few people willing to change the way things were. It was easier to adapt to how things were for everyone than try to change it all, and as a result apathy was as common as corruption in the city.

The youth was plagued by apathy the worst, for those not completely enticed by partying were absorbed in self-fulfilling acts rather than anything that could help the city as a whole. Elderly and rich members of the city at least had their apathetic ways countered by the strong support for Gotham and the people in it by the philanthropist Bruce Wayne.

Aside from the massive mobs fighting constantly over the town, there were also smaller gangs and criminals fighting. It was the individual efforts of recent that caught people's attention in the newspaper though. A thief who had not been caught had been raiding the regal museums, baffling the police and criminal underworld alike as to how they had gotten away with so much. News of some clown themed criminal was also circulating, confusing the rationale minded and scaring the smarter denizens of the city.

In this disturbed place a man named Jonathan Crane was making a living and leaving no impact on the world. The town was a fitting place for him he always thought, for it was a demented location and he knew demented all too well. A few dozen, if hundreds could be called that, encounters with bullies and an abusive family life plagued the man, but he had moved beyond all of that.

Jonathan had gone to college and studied specifically to become a psychologist or a psychiatrist, his goal being to conquer his own fear. In the process the man had decided that maybe he could help make the world better by going out and helping other people with their psychological problems. Less messed up people would be better towards others and make a partially better world, right?

He was not an idealist. He had no overarching ambitions to change the world by force. He knew he was but one man and an unremarkable one at that, and as a result he did not think of himself as some sort of fighter for a better world. He was just someone who did his best to transcend his past to prevent similar tragedy from reoccurring.

The idealist role was reserved for the dreadful woman he now found himself speaking to in court. Surely this woman was a testament to Gotham's state of being…if the morally upright and uptight were so brazen and tactless, the suppose good people of Gotham, then what are the bad people like?

In the middle of the court floor stood a woman of normal features and an expensive suit, no physical traits of any note to make her stand out from anyone else and a personality that few would find desirable. She was two faced in some regards, especially those of personal concern, but that did not apply to Jonathan. No, he was apparently on her hit list for she took every moment they were in the same room to debate everything he said.

Rachel Dawes walked towards where Jonathan sat down on the stand, "Doctor Crane, what is it that makes this man any different than any other murderer here in Gotham that made you declare him insane while others with similar habits are sent to prisons like Blackgate?"

The instances that this woman argued on his opinion were numerous, so much that Jonathan could bet with some assurance that the times numbered more than what one could count on their hands. Speaking confidently he replied, "In my opinion, Mr. Zsasz is as much a danger to himself as he is to others and that prison is probably not the best environment for his rehabilitation."

Dawes raised her eyebrows as she responded, contempt dripping from her voice, "You really don't think that a man who butchers people for the mob belongs in jail?"

Jonathan leant towards the microphone and in a deadpan manner replied snarkily, "Well, I would hardly have testified to that otherwise."

Rachel continued right on with her questioning, ignoring his snarky attitude, "This would be the fourth criminal you've recently had declared insane and suggested to move to an asylum despite their heinous acts."

Jonathan shifted in his seat, uncomfortable where the lawyer was bringing the conversation. Despite this he continued to speak calmly, a slight trace of snark still in his voice, "Despite, or rather because of? Perhaps the work offered by organized crime has an attraction to the criminally insane."

Rachel had walked up to where Jonathan sat and looked him straight in the eye as she replied, "Or the corrupt."

The judge interrupted before Crane could formulate a response, "That's enough Ms. Dawes. Now, given that mister Zsasz has been convicted and given the in depth psychoanalysis by Doctor Crane, I will be ruling that he should be brought to Arkham Asylum for his rehabilitation where he will not be able to harm others or himself. Case dismissed."

As the psychiatrist and professor walked out of the court's main entrance he heard a familiar but grating voice call his name, "Doctor Crane!"

Turning towards the voice, Jonathan saw the woman from the court room approach him, "Came to continue the discussion from before I see."

Before the lawyer could open her mouth she was cut off by a second person that appeared and faced her, "Rachel, lay off it. The case is over and Zsasz won't be hurting anyone else now. Isn't that enough?"

Rachel turned away from looking at Jonathan to face the DA of Gotham, the ever famous white knight Harvey Dent, "But-"

Dent continued looking at her and spoke in a smug way, his caring but jockish attitude ever apparent, "It doesn't matter now. Arkham has only had a handful of breakouts in the decades it has been in service, much better than Blackgate. It may actually be better for the public that Zsasz is locked away there and not Blackgate."

Jonathan took this moment to slip away, the throbbing in his head causing him extreme discomfort. As he usually did to work off this pain, Jonathan left for the research facility used by his school. Working on his pet project always calmed him, unlike these criminal diagnoses that he did to earn money for said project.

* * *

Pulling up to the building used to conduct 'research', Jonathan was shocked to find police cars and ambulances surrounding the vicinity. Parking nearby the building and getting out of his rental car, Jonathan approached a man he recognized and spoke to them, "What is this?"

The man was a coworker from the college, one that Jonathan had never particularly cared for, and was standing by a police cruiser. Inside a nearby ambulance Jonathan could see a few shivering people, all of them gasping when their eyes saw the form of Jonathan Crane. Their reaction irked him, but he kept a straight face as he listened to his coworker, "We are shutting down your sick projects here Crane. The experiments you ran here do not adhere to ethical codes and are disgusting. You are lucky that none of the participants want to raise charges!"

Ever since he graduated with medical school and became a psychiatrist, at the age of 25 to the shock of many others, Jonathan had been working on this project. The research, the data he had compiled over time, it was worth everything to him. Not only had he invested a year of his free time experimenting on his students who wanted extra credit, but the research had been being watched by a mysterious organization that promised Jonathan that they would save the city. They said if he took their blue flower, if he tested the qualities of the darn thing and unlocked what was within it that he would be helping Gotham.

Normally Jonathan would discount any such nonsense, but when he took a whiff of the flower one day on a whim he was met with a powerful hallucination. Intrigued, he contacted the group and they explained that the flower could bring about fear in someone briefly. Something was special about it, and it didn't help that the days he didn't spend experimenting he got visits from the men clad in black assassin uniforms. After he questioned them once he was beaten and threatened by a female member of them into working for them. He did not particularly like this "Talia" woman. Another name to his bully list.

Currently Jonathan found himself in a bind. If he lost all the research that he had gained thus far, he was going to die. He never knew why he was chosen to do this task in the first place, but he got the feeling that they would replace him quickly should he prove worthless. Worried, Jonathan cast his gaze towards the building, "But my research, can I at least-"

The coworker replied, "It is all being confiscated by the police department as we speak, to be moved back to our campus archives when they are done searching them for anything incriminating."

Still trying to find a way to get to his research, Jonathan tried to play the "rights" card, "You can't just come here and do this, there are rights that people can exercise-"

The other man grunted, "Tell it to the jury if we end up bringing you there. Oh, and by the way, you've been fired."

* * *

When Jonathan stumbled away from the place where his fate was sealed, a familiar voice could be heard by him. A familiar voice he did not like. A familiar voice that wasn't even there.

_The darker side that Jonathan knew of himself, nicknamed Scarecrow by the young doctor, cackled in Jonathan's mind, "Your life sucks! Though you can think of it this way poor Johnny, you're worthless and pathetic life is through! You won't have to deal with those mean bullies ever again. I'll be taking care of them!"_

Jonathan opened his mouth to reply but had trouble formulating a response, "But-"

_His darker side went on cackling inside Jonathan's mind before it spoke in a mocking tone, "What do you have left Jonathan? A friend? Your family? A lover?" The Scarecrow paused after each inquisition to let them sink in and cut his prim and proper self, "Even a job and thus a house? You have nothing, nothing but me!" With a lighter voice, he continued on, "So let me take the reign now and forever. You've done it briefly in the past, so how is this any different?"_

Gripping his temple tightly, Jonathan shook his head while he replied, "Yo-you're just a figment of my imagination that I created to help deal with the extreme situations I found myself in! You are me. You were never in control because you aren't real!"

_"You sure you don't want to relinquish control of your body for just a bit?" Scarecrow asked in a faux innocent manner, "I thought you always liked the mind more than the body. Wouldn't it just be great to be a mind with no body? Would you like that?"_

Slamming his hand into a wall, Jonathan ignored the pain he felt as he yelled, "No, no I wouldn't! I won't let you make my trainwreck of a life _even worse_!"

_Back to his mocking tone, Scarecrow responded with a trace of anger, "But Johnny, how can it get worse? Unless those shifty characters we've been helping out kill us, I can't see it getting worse than being destitute and jobless! I'm pretty sure that they have that in mind for when you create the perfect formula for that toxin we've been trying out on 'patients'. Those guys mean business!"_

Pointing a finger, Jonathan yelled back in a hushed manner, "You had better stop this, and I mean _now_! You would be best to not refer to them as well! I have enough to deal with as it is right now."

_Scarecrow pointed to himself innocently, "What, you mean the fanatical people you are working with to bring Gotham to its knees someday?" Another mad fit of laughter preceded his continuation, "I personally can't wait until they start killing people!"_

Jonathan shook his head, trying desperately to push away the demons of his own dangerous mind, "They only want to hold it all ransom, they said force would only be used if-"

_Disgusted by his other side's feigned ignorance, Scarecrow was the one to yell now, "Oh quit being naïve! I'm you, remember? I know they are lying and that means you know deep down that this will be a bloodbath one day!" Calming down and lowering his voice, the apparition continued on, "I want to be in charge though when it happens. How about you let me practice for it now?"_

"Shut up! You aren't real you sick, demented thing!"

_"Come on, it'll be easy-"_

"Get out of my head!"

_"-just let the lights turn off for a moment Johnny-"_

"Stop it!"

"-if we're one and the same it shouldn't matter-"

_"GET OUT!"_

A member of the university heard the ranting and raving of Jonathan and decided to see what the man was yelling about, "Doctor Crane? Are you alright?"

The former professor stopped yelling, but didn't respond to the other man. A little perplexed, the university teacher asked again and approached the now silent man, "Doctor Crane?"

As the other man placed a hand on Crane's shoulder Crane turned to face him, "Oh yes…I am quite fine. In fact, I'm curious. Would you like to help me with an experiment for a moment?"

* * *

On a couch in a slightly object crowded room lay a college aged girl, her attention captivated by the television across the room from her. On the screen was a news story that interested her. Sitting at a desk, her roommate wasn't as interested.

Penelope Young was focused on the books that lay in front of her, intent on earning her doctorate in psychology at the earliest age she could so that she could start helping others sooner. She could barely stand her roommate, who was able to not work hard and still get decent grades, and detested the way that said person could idly watch television whenever she wasn't partying or sleeping with her boyfriend of the week.

As such, Penelope did not react kindly when the marginally older woman tried to grab her attention by throwing a sock at the back of her head to look at the television.

"Come check this out Penelope, there was a murder at-"

Penelope cut her off, removing the sock that had landed on her shoulder and tossing it to the ground of the disheveled room at the same time, "Too busy to listen to some annoying woman speak about one of the million murders here in Gotham."

The roommate sighed in response, "But come on Pen, this-"

"Is different?" Young glared at the 28-year-old woman who she lived with, "What about that clown freak that people have been talking about? That's different, and I still don't care."

The roommate went back to watching the television special of how cops could not find what caused a man's sudden death at a college, "Fine, read your books. I'm going to watch this, so if you want to read in peace go to the common room."

Penelope grabbed her books and stood up slowly, "That's fine by me."

Young only was able to stay rooming with this woman because she knew there were far worse out there. Far, far worse. Penelope ignored the Vicki Vale woman and continued studying, completely missing out about the murder she most likely should have listened about.

* * *

Days after last visiting the court room, Jonathan Crane entered it again. Once the legal proceedings finished and he began to leave once more in an attempt to dodge Rachel Dawes, someone else came after him. Grabbing the marginally shorter man's shoulder, Harvey Dent spoke to his friend, "Hey Johnny, how are you?"

Jonathan stopped his fast walk away from the building and turned to face Gotham's White Knight. Jonathan did not mind Harvey Dent, actually enjoying his company in comparison to the man's assistant, "Fine now that I do not have an assistant district attorney accusing me of corruption."

Harvey removed his hand from Jonathan and chuckled as he thought back to his assistant and girlfriend, "Yeah, sorry about how Rachel heckled you about the diagnosis. She does a great job at what she does but she sometimes takes things too far."

Crane shrugged and sighed before he responded, "It is alright. She is the least of my troubles right now, even if she does do the same 'you are a terrible person for stating that insane people are insane' bit every time I walk into a courtroom."

Head tilted back, Harvey let out a laugh at Jonathan's impression of Rachel. He did enjoy the back and forth between the two, "The banter I've seen between you two is great! Ever wonder why you get assigned to cases involving Rachel and I so often? I request to use you because not only will I get a thorough analysis of the person in question, but I can get my daily laughing quota out of the way at the same time!"

Jonathan rolled his eyes and sighed, "Thank you for the increased income then, but on the other side I must say that it is a chore to argue with her at times. My job is to just tell the truth about a criminal's mental state, and as such interruption and harassment can get annoying."

Knowing that Jonathan was usually serious, Harvey still found the constant sighing to be a bit off for the doctor. Raising an eyebrow, the district attorney asked, "Is something the matter? You seem a bit stressed."

Looking down at the ground and letting out yet another sigh, Jonathan collected his thoughts about how he should go about explaining his situation. To a normal person, he would just ignore them. But this was Harvey Dent. He was far from normal. A man charismatic enough to win the friendship of Jonathan Crane was a man who certainly deserved his high position.

Finally coming up with a way to talk about his predicament, Jonathan spoke to the patiently waiting Harvey, "I was recently fired on the account of actually doing my job and as a result was unable to pay for my apartment, which means that for the moment, I am a homeless doctor without a job."

Harvey knew that Jonathan was smart enough to get a job wherever he pleased, so that didn't worry the district attorney much. The homeless bit made the man begin to think of options for his friend though, but Harvey Dent decided to do one issue at a time, "You think about applying to a place like Arkham? That place needs some people who know what they're doing and always has an open position."

Jonathan physically blanched and shook his head, "I've seen the facility and the people there. I refuse to work with the likes of Harleen Quinzel who graduated with a degree in psychology by sleeping with her professors. Thank you for the idea though."

Now Harvey shrugged lightly, "No problem. Have you thought about becoming a forensic psychiatrist, well, as more than just a side job?"

Giving Harvey a 'did you seriously ask that' type look, Jonathan waited for Harvey to pick up on the obvious. When his friend did not, Jonathan explained, "No actually. I probably would end up diagnosing insane myself to escape your assistant one day."

In the back of Jonathan's mind sat Scarecrow who now wished to give his two cents, "If you hate the bitch so much, why don't I take care of her?"

Harvey chuckled at Jonathan, obviously not hearing the internal bit from Scarecrow obviously, "I would laugh more, but I'm afraid Rachel would kill me for it. You see, she and I are an item."

This caught Jonathan a little off guard. Harvey had never brought Rachel up when they hit the bars before…likely for good reason. Dent was smart enough to not bring her into any conversation with her arch-enemy. Thinking like that got him his job after all. Grimacing, Jonathan replied, "My apologies."

Harvey laughed again, "None needed, but I just have to keep myself in check."

Shaking his head a little, Jonathan clarified for the lawyer, "I was referring to you dating her."

The district attorney grinned, "You know what, you're an interesting guy Dr. Crane. Seeing as you're broke and I just so happen to be loaded, I think I am going to do you a favor and buy you a drink."

Jonathan smirked as he tried to use what was known as humor, "Good thing your assistant is not here. She would accuse me of trying to steal away her man even though you instigated this entire conversation."

Harvey tilted his head back and laughed again, "Yeah, she probably would," raising a fist to his mouth, Harvey cleared his throat, "Now, I have a plan to get you back on your feet. It has multiple steps," lifting his index finger up, Harvey continued, "Step one: find you a place to stay. That shouldn't be hard, but finding a _safe_ place to stay may be a bit more difficult," Dent raised another finger as he went on, "Step two: Talk with my associates and get you a job with all of us. Given that I'm me, this too shouldn't be difficult," the man grew a grin that unsettled Jonathan a little as Harvey lifted his third finger, "And lastly, and very importantly, step three: Get you some nice lady, or guy I might add, to keep you from going to bars and drinking your life away."

Jonathan blinked blankly at his friend. Was the man serious? The grin on Harvey's face made it seem that way. Clearing his throat, Jonathan decided to go about this diplomatically, "Your plan seems very…interesting, but I am afraid I must decline for the time being. I have…something I must do currently and won't be able to do anything like what you suggested."

Harvey scoffed, "Oh come on, not even getting yourself a girlfriend? How hard could that be for a doctor like yourself?"

"An unemployed doctor," Jonathan rebuffed.

"But that wouldn't be the case if you go on the three step Harvey program!"

Jonathan shook his head, not believing that he was having this conversation in public. He could barely believe he was having this conversation, "What purpose would this person serve? I do not wish for companionship."

Harvey shook his head sadly, "It's sounds like you haven't had many girlfriends before."

"None in fact," Jonathan replied neutrally. He decidedly kept away from women...his only foray into romance before had ended horribly for him when the girl began to date the man who bullied him the most at the time and them helped play horrible pranks on Jonathan. That hadn't gone well and had ended worse, so it was policy for Jonathan to not have or just ignore any type of romantic or lustful feelings.

Not at all put off by his friend's anti-romance stance, Harvey responded, "Well then you don't know what you're missing! I would demonstrate to you how to pick up girls, but I am taken at the moment."

Jonathan stopped himself from responding instantly to that last statement by Harvey, almost having insulted the man's girlfriend. Harvey rolled his eyes as he saw Crane keep trying to open his mouth only to then shut it and think about what to say, "I know you're biting your tongue Johnny. Go on. I want to hear what you almost just said. I won't be mad. I promise."

"Rachel isn't a pity case on your part?" Jonathan spat out finally.

Harvey sighed and shook his head, "Nope," taking a glance at his watch caused Harvey to begin walking towards his own car nearby, "Now, how about we get going?"

Not moving from where he was, Jonathan shook his own head as he responded, "I think I could spend my time better elsewhere than a bar. I mean, I don't even have a place to be after drinking my brain numb enough to forget my life."

Dent stopped walking away and turned to Jonathan with a frown on his face, "I would invite you over, but Rachel would have a fit if I did that…"

Jonathan shrugged, "To make things easy, I'll just not go. I need to start looking for a new place to live anyways."

Harvey reached into his pocket for a familiar object, "Hold on a minute," finding the small misprinted coin he always held onto, Harvey withdrew it and showed one side to Jonathan, "Heads you come drink, tails you go look for a place to live."

Harvey flipped the coin into the air while Jonathan put a palm on his head in exasperation, shaking it as he pointed out the flaw in this 'bet', "Your coin has two heads on it-"

Catching the coin in midair, Harvey opened his palm out to reveal the coin, "Hey look, it landed on heads! Let's go drink."

As Harvey grabbed Jonathan's arm and began to drag him the doctor protested, "Wait a minute, I never said-"

Harvey continued to drag Crane along towards his own car, laughing cheerily as he did so, "You don't have to drink until you die, just enough to pass a sobriety test."

* * *

Seated now at a bar table, Harvey leant back in his chair and lifted his own beer mug up, "Okay, now that you've drank your first glass and steeled your nerves, I say we go about part three of my plan."

Jonathan frowned as he looked at his empty mug, cursing himself for gulping it down so fast, "I never agreed to part three-"

Harvey scanned the bar for practice for his friend when he came across a woman with dark hair in a ponytail of average height and highly above average bust. Nudging his friend, Harvey whispered, "How about you try asking that lonely girl over there if she wants a beer?"

Jonathan just kept looking at his beer glass, inspecting the glass instead of whomever Harvey was pointing him towards, "Sorry, but I do not wish to partake in such an activity. I am thankful for your efforts though. It is not often that someone tries to help me out in any arena, and this is the first time it has been the dating one."

Almost completely sober, Penelope flipped her dark ponytail behind her before she slumped on the bar counter and groaned, "Stupid roommate bringing me to a stupid bar and then leaving me alone with the tab when she finds someone to bang in _our_ room."

A burly man sat down next to her and spoke, "Want a drink lady?"

Penelope scoffed, "So I can be subject to whatever roofie you have in your pocket? No thanks."

The man scowled and got up, looking for another girl to hit on. Across the room, Harvey pointed to the guy and spoke to Jonathan, "See, that guy has at least partially the right idea! He's talking to girls," Harvey chuckled as another woman sent the burly man away, "but I don't think he's doing very well."

Jonathan shrugged apathetically, "I guess not, whoever he is. Now, anything other than my love life you want to talk about?"

Dent put a finger on his chin as he thought about what other topics they could discuss over beer, "Hmmm…" An idea struck the man known for being a two faced bastard by come policemen and Harvey grinned as he spoke it aloud, "How about mine?"

Still feeling apathetic, Jonathan shrugged in response and continued to ponder his beer glass, "Sure. Why not. As long as I'm not getting paired with random women, I'm fine."

"Alright then!"

* * *

"And that is how babies are made."

Shaking his head, Jonathan focused back in on reality, "Wait, what? I zoned out there."

Harvey grinned, "I know. That's why I threw that line in there."

Jonathan decided to get back to the topic of Rachel, which were twice as gut wrenchingly bad because he hated the woman who Harvey was speaking lovey dovey about, "So, where were you in your stories?"

Dent shrugged, "I was about done anyways," Harvey pointed his beer mug at Jonathan before continuing, "Now, back to the main course, your life that has gone and wrecked itself. You interested in my three step program?"

Jonathan could see that there was no way to dissuade the lawyer from this program he had made up and decided that if he couldn't beat it that he could beat the part he didn't want, "Would I be able to take your 'program' offer, save the last step, after I am done with my personal business?"

"Why of course bud. You planning on taking off now?"

Jonathan nodded back to him, "Yes. I have a growing headache, which I assure you is not because of you. It is an ongoing problem I have been having recently. I thought drinking might relieve me from it, but it has not been helping it at all," rubbing his head a little, Jonathan could feel more pain in it than from the hours before, "In fact it may have contributed to it more."

Harvey chuckled, "Well that's alcohol for you. I hope you rest up and feel better soon. We've got straightjackets to give out soon."

"Thank you again."

"No problem. I guess that since you're driving I should get ready to go too. Good thing too. Rachel would read me the riot act if I came home smelling of alcohol."

Jonathan grinned, "You must have it memorized then."

"That I do, that I do."

A professor looked up from the table he was speaking to other professors at to face the figure who had knocked on the open door of their room, "Doctor Crane? I thought you were canned last week? What, did you forget something?"

The former professor nodded back to his former colleagues, "Yes, yes I did in fact. I forgot to give you all your medicine before I left."

Another professor, the one who had told Jonathan of his firing, asked, "Medicine? What are you talking about you loon?"

Crane pulled out an aerosol looking can from a bag he held and pointed it at the professors in the room, "You see," clicking the trigger mechanism, Crane released a spray of what was in the object. Gas flooded the room in the direction Jonathan had pointed his weapon, "I didn't get the chance to show you what I've been learning the past year. My experiments have been quite illuminating, and I would like to show you the new medicine I've made first hand."

One of the professors tilted their head in confusion as Jonathan pulled out a burlap bag from the bag now and placed it over his own head, "Wait, Doctor Crane, what are you-"

The Scarecrow wagged his finger at the professors, who now were beginning to inhale the fear gas he had released, "No, no, no. This is not Crane. Crane left the building, both literally and metaphorically. You're dealing with something else entirely now."

A professor shoved another one in a fit of panic, "No! Stay away!"

Crane let out more of his fear gas for the professors to inhale, "Let the fear overwhelm you. Breathe it in, go on."

One professor pointed to the gawky figure of Crane and yelled, "Go away evil scarecrow! Go away!"

The former professor rose an eyebrow underneath his mask, "Scarecrow? It has been awhile since I have been called by that name by anyone but myself."

* * *

Penelope Young's roommate pointed to their television, "Pen, you actually have to see this this time! A bunch of-"

"Studying," Penelope responded curtly, still not happy about how she had been ditched the other day.

"Do you ever stop studying!?"

* * *

_A/N: And thus is this continuity's Scarecrow beginning his descent into evil. For more, A Misled Lamb has a lot of story for you! This was just a small-ish thing on the side. The main project is where the meat is at!_

_This MIGHT become a mini-series of a few chapters length if people like it enough. Let me know what you think about that idea!_

_Please let me know what you think with your feedback! Be it a comment, idea, question or just your overall thoughts I would love to hear from you all! Your feedback helps me improve my stories for everyone, including you and me!_

_**Typing box to make everything 20% cooler for everyone!**_

**I**

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